Mismatching brands?

[socalx09]

Hi, I am new. I have been reading this board for quite some time and have looked through forums, but just can't find the answer I need, so I thought I would sign up.

I just brought a house 6 months ago and the pool was recently updated. It has pebble tech and rock coping. Also, it came with a hayward Ecostar pump. What worries me is the LED color changing lights. There is no brand on them, either on the pool or spa. I finally found them off ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/603-LED-Color-Changing-12-Volt-Waterproof-Swimming-Pool-Spa-Underwater-Light-/261496711552?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item3ce26b2980

I am scared of these lights. I am not sure if anyone is familiar with them. But, the lack of brand or origination scare me. They also only cover half of my kidney pool leaving the shallow very lighly lit. I wanted to upgrade to Pentair Intellibrite lights. But, I also want to have a pool automation system done. I believe I read on this forum, you shouldn't mismatch brands with automation. So with having a Hayward Eco Star pump. Are my options limited to a hayward pool automation and then color logics which I heard bad reviews on? I really heard great things about the Petair lights, but I want to be able to control them.

I also recently brought a Circupool SWG for $730 over the weekend. Not sure that is a good price now, as I see some of the systems come with a SWG. So I might return it.

Any advice would be great!!

Thank you!!!

 

[Patrick_B]

Welcome to the forum!

I say trust your gut feeling. I don't know a lot about these lights, but they have controllers, and I would be skpetical unless I could confirm with reasonable certainty they would work on my system. Good luck!!

Enjoy your time on the forum...

 

[JasonLion]

Using lights of a different brand than the automation system is not impossible but it does have a major disadvantage. When the brands match the automation system can go directly to a pre-programmed color. When the brands don't match you need to manually turn the light on and off several times until you get to the color you are aiming for. If you tend to always want the same color that is not a problem, as the light will remember the most recent color. But if you want various presets that go to specific colors it is really nice to have a same brand automation system.

 

[socalx09]

Thank you for both of your help!

If I want the lights to work with the system and I want to get the pentair intellibrites, well a pentair system work with a Hayward ecostat pump?

If not, I will stick with Hayward automation and go with the color logics.
I have been looking on eBay, and found this. http://m.ebay.com/itm/251900913156?nav=SEARCH

I am not familiar with automation technology. I can return my cirupool swag and order this for the same price. Not sure if aqua plus is recommend. Or if anyone knows new technology can be added on such as the wifi phone automation.

 

[JasonLion]

The Hayward EcoStar pump does allow external control by other brands of automation system. However it is a little more complex to install/program and requires the use of extra relays in the automation system compared to matching brands.

 

[Hayward Pool]

If you are looking to have the EcoStar control panel on the back of the pump control the lights, that is not possible. In reading over your post I do not see that you have a controller for all pool control. The EcoStar can easily be controlled by a ProLogic, or OmniLogic. Other controllers can be made to control the EcoStar but with a little more work on wiring.